The Edge of Glory
by CosmicStar
Summary: Kurt returns for his Senior year and continues to help Dave as he struggles with his identity. But when their friendship starts to bloom into something more, will both of them be able to come to terms with how they feel? An AU Kurtofsky. Chapter 4 is up!
1. Prologue: New York, New York

The Edge of Glory

**_A/N: This fic is something I started out of boredom, so I apologize if the writing isn't very clear or there are plotholes that pop up from time to time._**

**_Setting: Gleeniverse, AU Season 2 (Nationals) and 3._**

**_Rating: M for later chapters (language, angst, and possible sexytimes?)._**

**_Pairing: Kurt/Dave (friendship developing into romance)_**

Prologue: New York, New York

Kurt Hummel was grinning ear to ear as the glee club walked into the Courtyard Marriott on New York's 5th Avenue. As they'd pulled up to the hotel, he'd squeezed Mercedes arm and pointed out Bryant Park.

"Oh my God, Bryant Park! They have Mercedes Benz Fashion Week there! This is _the_ premiere fashion district in the U.S." he whispered, "We _have_ to go shopping!"

Mercedes had laughed and agreed enthusiastically, "If there's an entire week of fashion with _my _name attached to it, you know it'll be good."

Kurt was absolutely thrilled to be in a Mecca like NYC, it was definitely a far cry from Lima, Ohio and the small town lifestyle he was accustomed to.

Inside, Kurt spun in a circle in the hotel lobby, moving his arms out like a propeller. Finn raised an eyebrow at him, looking somewhat confused.

"Julie Andrews. The Sound of Music." Kurt said, and then in a falsetto, "_The hills are alive with the sound of music…_" Finn just shook his head and moved ahead to the check-in desk with the rest of their classmates. Kurt stuck his tongue out at his stepbrother.

"I think you capture the drama of the situation perfectly." Rachel's voice, "Now all you'd need is a sweeping pan of the camera across the whole lobby while you spin. Also, that kilt you wore to Prom wouldn't hurt either."

Kurt grinned at Rachel, he knew everyone was excited to be in New York for Nationals, but she was the only person who knew exactly what being in New York meant.

"Hey Rachel, I was actually thinking—"

She cut him off with a raise of her hand.

"I know exactly what you're going to say. We should take an afternoon that we're free on the trip and go check out Broadway and see if we could catch some of the actors after a show and ask them for pointers or just admire them and get autographs. I've had this planned out weeks in advance, and I know for sure that the Gershwin Theatre's show times for Wicked are at 2PM and 8PM."

He couldn't help but laugh at her for that. He loved Rachel for this reason exactly. They were on such a similar wavelength sometimes.

"You're more than welcome to come with me," Rachel said, "I think our mutual adoration for Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth gives us similar motivations in Glee Club."

Kurt nodded and agreed that they two of them would go check the theatre out on Saturday afternoon, between the matinee performance and the evening show. Maybe they'd even score free tickets. They were there for business, but that didn't mean they couldn't have fun. Besides, the Nationals competition wasn't until Monday evening, so they had the whole weekend to enjoy themselves.

"Looks like Mr. Shuester has our room keys. Let's go over and get them before we get left behind. We'll talk about Broadway later." Rachel turned on her heel and walked away from him.

Kurt was assigned to a room with Finn, which was a fairly obvious choice. They were brothers now, after all. They got up to their room and while Finn threw his bags on the bed and left to check out the hotel restaurant (he wanted to grab a snack), Kurt unpacked his bags carefully, hanging up various articles of clothing and putting others away in drawers neatly.

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness." He said aloud to no one, setting his four pairs of shoes in the closet under his arranged sweaters and pants.

He reached into his Prada messenger bag to retrieve his toiletry items (he needed to moisturize at night, he couldn't expect to just use _soap_.) when his hand struck something funny.

"What the in the world? I thought I emptied this before I left." He said, grasping the strange shaped object and withdrawing it from the bag. Turning it over in his hand, his breath caught in his lungs.

It was the cake topper from Dad and Carole's wedding. The one Karofsky stole from him right before he transferred to Dalton.

'_How the hell did this get in here?' _Kurt's brain reeled. Was Karofsky stalking him again? After the apology, after Prom, after everything that happened? He instinctively looked back into the bag to see if anything else was in there. Sure enough, a folded scrap of yellow legal paper was tucked into the bottom of the bag, next to where the cake topper had been sitting.

With slightly trembling hands, Kurt unfolded the paper and began to read.

_Kurt,_

_Sorry if finding this in your bag freaks you out a little bit. I had Santana plant it there while you all were getting ready to leave for the airport. I just wanted to give this back to you. I shouldn't have taken it from you in the first place…I guess I just did it out of jealousy. I hope you know that my apology the other week was sincere. I'm really sorry about everything that's happened._

_By the way, thank you for understanding. Sorry about running out on you at Prom but I'm just…I'm not ready to come out yet. I hope you understand that. Maybe we can talk when you get back. Have a good time in New York, and a good summer. I guess I'll see you back at school._

_Good Luck at your competition._

_Dave_

Kurt just stared at the letter. He read it a second time to be sure that he wasn't hallucinating the whole thing. A tear was stinging at his left eye. He really couldn't believe that Karofsky would do something like this. He immediately felt bad that he didn't run after the boy when he ran out of the Prom. He wiped the tear with the flat of his palm and tucked the note into his pants pocket.

"Thank you, Dave." He whispered to himself, gently putting the cake topper back into his bag, smiling to himself.


	2. Chapter One: White Houses

**_A/N: Okay, I finished Chapter One, like I promised! Only took me until almost 3 AM, but that's okay. Just a quick note about the story - I'm using alternating limited third person perspective for each chapter. So all the ODD numbered chapters are going to be from Kurt's POV, and all the EVEN numbered ones will be from Karofsky's POV. Also, each chapter title is also a song title that has something to do with the plot. I felt it was appropriate to do in a Glee-fic. Song for this chapter is "White Houses" by Vanessa Carlton._**

Chapter One: White Houses

Summer was just about over. August was waning quickly, and Kurt realized his senior year would be starting soon. Now was the time to go shopping and get a new set of outfits for his last year of high school. His phone buzzed angrily in his pocket, like a swarm of bees. He pulled it out and checked the screen. It was a text from Blaine. The two of them had broken up over the summer. Not for lack of chemistry or anything, but Dalton was nearly two hours away from Lima, and the distance thing had been stressful on both of them. They had agreed to split mutually, and promised to remain friends.

[Hey. I was thinking of driving up to Lima today to do some before school shopping. Westerville isn't really known for its retail establishments. You want to join me?]

Kurt texted back a quick response.

[YES. I absolutely cannot stand being in this house all day today. Meet you at the mall at like 12:30?]

Another buzz.

[Sounds like a spectacular idea to me. Why don't you and I meet up at the Food Court? We can get some Chopsticks Express, my treat.]

[That'd be excellent. You're way too kind. See you in a couple hours.]

Kurt set his phone down on the bed, and walked down the hall towards the bathroom. He needed to get ready before he met up with Blaine. One always had to be ready for a shopping trip. As he came around the corner into the hall, he bumped into Finn.

"Oops, sorry there." Finn said, "You look pretty…well…happy."

"Yeah, Blaine and I are going to the mall in a little while to go shopping for clothing and other school stuff." Kurt replied.

"That sounds like a fun time, I guess." Finn scratched his head, looking slightly confused, "But I thought the two of you broke up like, a month ago?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. Finn never seemed to remember their conversations; he was like an Alzheimer's patient that was still in High School.

"Yes, we did break up silly. However, we both decided to remain friends since we get along so well. The distance thing just wasn't working out since I had come back to McKinley."

"But Dalton's only like an hour away by car."

"Two hours," Kurt corrected, "But with senior year coming up for both of us and the price of gas still being so high, it was just getting to be stressful to commute. The break up was mutual though, like I said. We still enjoy spending time together, he's an amazing guy."

Finn smiled and nodded at Kurt.

"Well, I'm glad then. Break ups generally suck. I've been through more than enough to know it."

Kurt nodded in agreement. Most of the Glee Club changed who they were dating more often than Kurt changed outfits, and that was saying something.

"I have to go get ready to meet Blaine, but I appreciate the concern for my well-being."

"Oh, I understand. Just checking on you. Hope you two have fun. See you later." With that Finn, continued down the hall to his room, while Kurt turned around and marched himself into the bathroom.

Twelve thirty found Kurt at the Lima Mall Food Court. He checked his phone to see if Blaine had texted him at all yet. No notifications showed up though, just the clock and his background. He looked up from the screen just in time to see Blaine waving at him from the other side of the tiled eatery. Kurt smiled and strode across the floor towards him, weaving through tables and their occupants, his leather boots making a loud clacking noise on the floor.

"Good to see you again." Blaine said as Kurt reached him. The two embraced in a hug, "I hope this last month of your summer has been a good one."

"Absolutely," Kurt said, "I've had to deal with Finn trying to burn down our kitchen more than once though."

Blaine laughed and the sound crackled like electricity through the large room.

"You think I'm joking," Kurt pressed, "We had to put out two fires because he thought that you could put aluminum foil in the microwave. Twice."

Blaine waved a hand in front of his face, looking like he was trying to keep tears at bay.

"I'm sorry, it's just really _really_ funny to hear." Blaine said between breaths.

"I'm so glad you find it amusing," Kurt said in a pretend huff, "You're not the one that has to try to clean up after him…or eat the supposed 'food' he cooks."

Blaine straightened himself up, and fixed the front of his shirt.

"Well, good think I'm buying you some food today then, I guess. No microwaved foil or crappy food for you today. Just extremely delicious MSG, and maybe a little steamed rice."

"MSG, what a wonderful dietary choice." Kurt shook his head with disgust, "I must admit though, it makes for extremely tasty Chinese food. If you could even call what Chopstick Express serves 'Chinese food.'"

The two of them walked into the line at Chopstick Express, Kurt craning his neck to check out the menu. He honestly didn't know why the heck he bothered to look at the menu board anymore. He always got the exact same thing from the place. He even knew exactly how much the total would be with tax. What could he say, he was an avid shopper, and so he spent a majority of his time on weekends shopping around with Mercedes, Tina, and Brittany.

The line moved fairly quickly forward, and the two boys soon were at the counter; a severe looking Asian lady glowering at them from over the cash register. The customer service definitely wasn't a high point of this place, but it was either this or Subway, and Kurt certainly didn't want to ingest that many carbohydrates today.

"Yes, I'll have the stir fried vegetable combo with noodles and a large iced tea, please." Blaine ordered first, since he was ahead of Kurt. The lady just looked at the two of them and narrowed her eyes at Kurt.

"Oh! Sorry. I'll have the Kung Pao chicken with steamed rice instead of fried and a Sierra Mist, please."

The lady rung up the order and Blaine handed her the cash needed for the food. She gave them a number from next to the cash register and mentioned they'd call the number when the food was ready. The two boys picked a table near the front of the restaurant and began chatting excitedly about what they'd done over the summer. Their number was called soon after, and Blaine grabbed their food and brought it over to the table so they could eat.

"So I heard you all didn't win at Nationals, by the way." Blaine said, taking a bite of his stir-fry. The words felt blunted to Kurt, like they hurt his ears to hear them.

Kurt nodded solemnly, eyes at the table; his Kung Pao was swimming in more sauce than he was used to. He poked at it with his chopsticks a little bit.

"Yeah. Vocal Adrenaline beat us. Again. It wasn't as devastating as when we lost at Regionals the first time, but I guess we just weren't all as focused as we should have been."

There was a tense silence that followed. The only sound Kurt could hear was that of Blaine chewing his food, almost as if he were trying to come up with something to say…or perhaps he was stalling.

"It's okay," Kurt found himself saying, "We always have another shot this year, if we make it."

Blaine swallows his stir-fry, finally. His brows are knitted, as if he were searching for a specific word.

"Well, to be fair, beating Vocal Adrenaline isn't really an easy thing to do. Getting to compete against them not once, but twice, is pretty impressive. You should still be proud of what you all accomplished. Focus on this year, and let what happened back in May pass, like you said, you all have another shot this year."

Blaine smiled at him, all teeth and sparkle this time, and Kurt could feel the weight of ND's defeat at Nationals lift a little. That smile, it always did him in. Foolish of him. He finally got around to picking a piece of chicken out of his meal and popping it in his mouth. Well, at least it was cooked, despite swimming in sauce. That was a bonus.

The rest of their meal was eaten without another mention of Glee. They discussed classes they were taking, and plans on how each other's respective schools would fare in sports.

"Well, let's go find those new pants you were looking for. You might get lucky and find them on sale." Blaine says finally, once the conversation had died down in speed.

"Absolutely, I'll clear our trays." Kurt pushed his chair away from the small table and grabbed both of the mahogany colored trays with the remains of their food and walked briskly to the nearest trashcan, dumping their contents inside. He set the trays down and strode back over to Blaine.

"There we are. Now, off to find some spectacular new school clothes. It's my senior year, I have to rock it this year." Kurt looked over at Blaine, who nodded at him. The two continued away from the food court and down to the other major shops.

An hour had gone by and Kurt really hadn't found anything he was interested in. One or two pairs of really nice skinny jeans in Forever 21, but aside from that, most of the stuff at the mall just didn't seem to hold his attention, which was extremely strange to him. The items inside Express, on the other hand, seemed to captivate Blaine just fine.

"Hey, I'm going to step outside and get a drink of water." Kurt called over. Blaine merely nodded in acknowledgement, still enraptured with a veritable sea of blazers.

Kurt rolled his eyes slightly and walked out of the store. He'd lied about the water, of course…he really just wanted to get away from the clothing racks for a moment. For some reason, he felt…distracted by the upcoming year. He could help but keep thinking back to finding the cake topper in his bag at Nationals, and the note that Karofsky had left him. He really wanted to sit down and discuss what was going on with Dave, but he was honestly afraid that the two of them wouldn't really get a chance to do so. Ever since the week of Prom, Kurt felt a severe tinge of guilt and pain when he thought about Dave. He really should have tried to keep in touch with him over the summer…although it would have been exponentially easier if he'd even seen the boy in the last two and a half months.

Dave Karofsky then chose that exact moment to walk out of Old Navy. Kurt saw him first, and began making his way past the small crowd of people in front of Aldo. He saw Dave's eyes sweep over him, then halt and reverse their motion until he was staring directly at Kurt. He began fidgeting and looking for a place to move away from the front of the store, but he didn't have time; Kurt caught up with him and cocked an eyebrow at the taller boy.

"No surprise in running into you here…Fan-uh, Kurt." Dave said, although it sounded more like a whispered grunt.

"I was actually about to say the opposite to you, Dave." Kurt felt like this being on first name basis thing was strange, but he wanted to be civil with the boy, and calling him "Karofsky" felt like he was allowing the bigger boy to assert dominance over him in some sort of primal way.

"Is there any reason you came over here to talk to me?" Dave said, glancing nervously back into the store, as if looking for someone.

"I actually came to say thank you." Kurt said, "For returning the cake topper to me at Nationals. That was a very sweet thing to do."

"Well, I really didn't want it any more and I felt like…well, I shouldn't have taken it in the first place. So I guess, you're welcome?" Dave's face had flushed with a slight red tinge, and he continued to glance over his shoulder. Kurt took this as a very obvious hint.

"Someone in there that you don't want to see us talking?" Kurt asked, folding his arms carefully.

"I…well, I'm shopping with my Mom. She's a little, uh, overbearing?" Dave said. "I mean, she's a good person, she's just always up in my business. She'll probably be looking for me soon."

"Oh." Kurt said, sounding surprised, "I thought it was someone from school. I don't think you need to be worried about your mother seeing you with me. Unless, you're afraid she'll think you'll catch the gay from me."

Dave's face turned a brighter shade of red. Kurt's face felt hot too. It was extremely strange being…nice…to the young man who had been tormenting him not even a year ago.

"It's not that, I just don't even really want to be here and I feel weird talking to you in public about things. My parents still don't know I'm…" Dave seemed to struggle getting the last word out, almost as if it was a curse word.

"Gay?" Kurt offered helpfully.

"Shhh!" Dave cut across him harshly, "Don't say that word right now!"

Kurt's eyes widened, it was obvious that Karofsky was still so deeply in his closet he could probably see Narnia.

"I'm sorry, Dave. I didn't know that I was being offensive." Kurt said, his tone slightly keyed up with annoyance and sarcasm.

"It's not offensive, I just really don't want anyone to find out. I need to come to this on my own time, and I can't be pushed to come out, okay?" Dave said, punctuating the last part of his sentence very clearly.

Kurt understood what he meant. He actually felt bad for trying to push Karofsky to come out at Junior Prom. That wasn't fair of him to ask, it was Karofsky's decision on when and if to tell anyone. Kurt nodded and dropped his guard. Just then he spotted Blaine walking out of Express and looking around for him.

"Well, it looks like I should get going. I'm sure you don't want Blaine coming over here and giving you some awkward pep talk in public. So, anyways, thank you again for returning the cake topper. I appreciate the gesture. I'll see you at school, Dave." Kurt waved a little and began to turn to leave.

"Wait..!" Karofsky's voice was slightly strained, as if he'd tried to stop himself from saying anything. Kurt turned around, eyebrow raised.

"Yes?"

"Uh…I was wondering if we uh…could talk. Like, privately? You could call me or something later? I just...I feel like you're the only person I can turn to right now." Dave said.

"Oh…well, yeah. That'd be fine I guess." Kurt said, surprisingly happy that Dave wanted to confide in him. He pulled his phone out and opened the keypad. "What's your number? I'll just text you so you get my number, and then you can call me when you want to talk later."

Dave nodded quickly, and Kurt noticed that Blaine had seen the two of them and was headed that way. He typed Dave's number into his phone quickly and saved it.

"There." Kurt said, sending a quick message to the number Dave had just given him. "Just call me later and we'll talk. Anyways, you might want to get back inside, Blaine's headed this way."

Dave nodded and ducked back into the store, just as Blaine reached Kurt.

"Was that…that football bully?" Blaine asked, looking concerned.

"Yes, it was. We were just talking. He wanted to talk to me, so we traded numbers." Kurt said, reassuringly, "Don't worry. He just needs a friend right now. He's not going to do anything to hurt me. He apologized, remember?"

"I guess so." Blaine's expression seemed doubtful.

"Don't worry about it. It'll be fine I promise." Kurt said, grabbing Blaine's arm and pulling him away from Old Navy, "Come on, we still need to check Macy's."


	3. Chapter Two: Viva La Vida

_**A/N: Sorry it took so long for this chapter to get put up. I dealt with a pretty extremely bad weekend, and a city near where I live, called Joplin, was hit badly by a tornado, so I've been helping with the relief effort. This chapter is mostly flashback with the exception of the beginning and ending. This chapter is dedicated to FinnLawrence from Tumblr, who was the one to inadvertently give me this idea. Read and review, please!**_

The Edge of Glory

Chapter Two: Viva La Vida

David Karofsky was sitting at his computer desk in his room. The only light came in from the slightly open window on the wall in front of him. Sitting in the dark wasn't normally his thing, but he was thinking and this seemed to him to be the best atmosphere to do it in. He sat in the dark and thought a lot anymore, actually. Ever since he'd kissed Hummel, he spent most of his time at home in his room. His parents seemed worried, but he never really let on about any of it. He just couldn't get his mind off of what had transpired, and how absolutely, crushingly horrible he felt about it.

He'd apologized to Kurt about it right before Prom, and he honestly expected the boy to not even believe him. Especially after bearding it up with Santana and making that stupid-ass fake apology to Principal Figgins and Mr. Schuester. It wasn't entirely faked, of course, but his heart wasn't in it and he knew that.

"David, dinner'll be ready soon! Go wash up!" his mother's voice called up the stairs at him, interrupting his thoughts.

"Okay ma, I'll take care of it!" He yelled back down at her.

He didn't move however, his right leg stayed tucked underneath him on the chair, it was starting to go numb at this point. He absentmindedly picked at the front of his desk where the plastic edging strip was peeling off, and wondered how the hell this had all changed so quickly. He used to be _king_ of McKinley High, but not anymore. He was just a false king, and a jester had stolen his crown.

Prom. The whole thing was a joke. He won Prom King because of the fact that everyone wrote in votes for Hummel. He knew they did it to make him feel uncomfortable. He felt awful for the boy when he ran out of the gym in embarrassment. He really wanted to dance with Kurt that night. It just felt awkward, all of them watching, coming out, making that kind of statement. Dave knew he didn't have the courage to do it. He wasn't that Blaine kid…and Kurt would never want someone like Dave to dance with him anyways. He'd turned before leaving to watch the two of them dance, wishing that he had more courage to be the king he'd once been. But it was all just a title, and a game for the students of McKinley.

He actually still remembered his first day of freshman year at McKinley. He was a scared fourteen-year-old kid, and it seemed like it was a million years ago. That feeling of suddenly being a very small fish in a very big pond was absolutely terrifying. He spent the first few weeks of school going quietly from class to class, trying to avoid really being seen by anyone. His father had encouraged him to go out for a sport to keep him active, and make friends. He had originally wanted to go out for football, but the tryouts had been held in June before school started and he'd been on vacation with his family that week. He ended up on the hockey team instead, another sport he'd been fairly interested in as a kid. His parents had paid for ice skating lessons when he was ten or so, and it was probably a good way to put what he learned to good use.

The hockey players were assholes. They were the bottom totem pole in terms of school athletics, and while Dave wasn't terribly concerned with popularity or anything of that nature, he noticed that they were all very ugly in the way they talked to one another. There was a lot of teasing about not being "faggots" (he remembered hearing that word more times than probably anything) and a lot of intimidation and posturing that went on in the locker room. It was right after tryouts that Dave first met Azimio (who he later nicknamed "Z"). He was on the freshman football team, but he had planned on trying out for hockey as well. He ended up not being that good on the ice and was subsequently cut. Their first exchange of words wasn't necessarily pleasant though, as Dave had tried to stick up for Z after the junior varsity players were making fun of his weight and clumsiness in the rink.

"Why don't you just back off him?" Dave said.

"I didn't know he needed his boyfriend to stick up for him. Maybe if he took your dick out of his ass, he'd act like a real man." One of the older boys had retorted, and they'd all walked off, laughing.

Dave's face burned with anger and embarrassment, but he turned around to check on the bigger boy.

"Hey, you okay?" Dave asked.

"Why don't you shut the hell up and mind your own business?" Z said, "I don't need someone to fight my battles for me. I don't need some ice skating fag helping me out."

"Fuck dude, I was just trying to help, four against one isn't much of a fair fight." The anger burned at Dave's face again, this time his skin turned a blotchy red. He hated being called that; he wasn't some sort of homo.

"Like I said, I can take care of my own shit. I don't need you to help me out, okay?" With that, Z grabbed his bag and left the locker room.

That basically was the end of it, or at least that's what it seemed like. Dave made the hockey team and made friends with a couple of the other guys there. He got used to everyone calling each other fags, and started joining in after a while, trying desperately to continue to fit in his with new friends. It wasn't until two months later, after one of the first hockey games the freshman team had, when he and Z met again. It was honestly hard to recall exactly what happened, but two members of the opposing hockey team jumped Dave in one of the arena hallways after the game. He seemed to recall it being involved with checking one of their members into a wall so hard the dude got injured, but it wasn't like he did it intentionally. The only clear memory was that he was down on the ground getting the absolute shit kicked out of him when Z had come around the corner and laid a punch into one guy's face, almost breaking his nose. Everything after that was somewhat hazy, but he remembered Z helping him up off the floor and mentioning that two on one wasn't a very fair fight. The two of them were friends from that point on, and had each other's back as the years went on.

They were an unstoppable team, and had the majority of their class scared into submission by the time sophomore year rolled around. And that's when the damn glee club started up, and Dave's life changed. That was the first time Dave had ever seen Hummel, at least seen him properly. If they'd had any classes together before that first day of sophomore year, he damn well couldn't remember them. There was something ridiculously captivating about the way Hummel moved down the halls, gliding like he owned them, not caring that he was being stared at by just about _everyone_.

That moment stood perfectly in Dave's mind, still full of vibrant and beautiful color, like an image reflected in a mirror which showed exactly what he desired in life: that kind of confidence, that command of a crowd. Hummel had it all and he didn't even have to _try._ Dave's chest burned with a fire he'd not felt before, one that spread to his stomach and radiated heat to his whole body. The sensation alone was intense, and he couldn't be sure what he felt: Admiration or jealousy. Z was at his side almost immediately, pointing at the boy.

"Fuckin' fairies man. You look like you're about to throw up just looking at him." Z said.

Dave blinked for a second, caught in the haze of his thoughts, trying to pull free of the siren call of Hummel's boots making that echoing **clack**down the hallway. He turned to face his partner in crime, eyebrows raised.

"Hummel? Y-you think he's a—?" Dave started.

Z's face contorted into a confused sort of amusement.

"Are you being serious with me right now? You can't tell?" Z responded.

"Well, he dresses funny." Dave said in a pointless sort of argument.

"Yeah, he dresses funny because he's a sissy fagboy. It's gross." Z said, looking somewhat bewildered that Dave was so oblivious.

"Well, you thinkin' about doing something about it?" Dave asked.

"I think we should make his life hell, I don't want to see a queer like him every day. What if I catch it? What if you do?" Z had said. A jolt of electricity ran down Dave's spine. He felt numb all at once. The burning in his chest had returned, hotter than before.

"Fine." Dave said, "What the hell do we do then?"

"Like I said man, we make his life hell. Make him never want to come back. Maybe he'll just fuckin' disappear for good. Hell, he could off himself and I wouldn't even care." Z said. Part of Dave just wanted to stare at his friend like he'd gone absolutely insane. The rest of him resigned to the fact that this was who he was. He wanted to stay on top, he wanted to remain one of the big dogs. He'd worked hard to get here. He commanded the fear and respect he deserved.

"Fine then man. We'll do it your way." Dave said, immediately regretting it.

In the weeks that followed, both he and Z became notorious for their bullying tactics against Kurt and the members of the glee club. Slushies were their favorite weapon of choice against the other students, but Dave found it incredibly difficult to throw the syrupy beverage in Hummel's face. He always found a way to aim at one of his other friends instead, and the guys started to take notice in how he was faltering. Z confronted him about it first.

"What the hell are you on about Z?"

"I don't know, like the fact that you're trying to protect that little pansy out there? You just _ignore_ him." Z's words were biting, sharp to the ear. "I'd almost think you liked him, Big D."

Ice crystals spread under his skin, speeding through his blood and to his face. He suddenly felt his whole body just freeze, locked up without a way out.

"I do _not_ like Hummel!" Dave's voice was hoarse, and his tone defensive.

"Then why don't you fuckin' prove it to all of us? The guys are planning on making him remember tomorrow, if you catch my drift. Either help us, or get out of the way."

Dave said nothing at first; his eyes just poured molten fury out at Azimio. He knew exactly what his friend meant. The football players were going to actually beat the boy up.

"Why don't you just let me take care of Hummel?" Dave said, trying to sound as corrosive as possible, "I'll make sure he doesn't forget who's in charge, and prove to you guys where my loyalties actually lie in this school, okay?"

Azimio narrowed his eyes, as if he were trying to work out if his friend had an ulterior motive or not, and while Dave knew Az wasn't one of the sharpest tools in the proverbial shed, he scrambled to lie his way out of looking like he was protecting Kurt.

"Look, Hummel treated me like absolute crap when we were younger, okay?" Dave lied, trying to sound convincing, "I've just been ignoring him because I've been restraining myself until a better opportunity arose. Okay?"

"Fine. We'll leave him to you. You get one shot, Karofsky. That's it." With that Z was gone, leaving Dave alone in the locker room. He sat down on the floor, rubbing his temples.

_What the hell did I just get myself into, again? _

That first shove into a locker was probably the most mentally painful thing Dave had ever had to deal with. He remembered steeling himself in front of the rest of his friends and then just shoving all his weight into Kurt's thin frame. There was a loud crash followed by a muffled cry of "_Hey_!" The sound itself made Dave sick to his stomach, but he made his face stony, resolute. He knew that in some sick twisted up way he was keeping Kurt from getting hurt worse. The thought still didn't comfort him. The other guys were clapping their hands on his back and laughing, but the sound seemed far away and hollow.

He had cried that night, silently, in his room. It had been the first time since he was a kid. He sunk to the floor, and pulled his knees to his chest and just sobbed. He didn't understand anything he was feeling. He was King of McKinley, he shouldn't be feeling remorse for what he was doing to Hummel or any of his friends. This was who he was, the person he'd chosen to be. On top of that, he kept looking at Hummel and getting these happy little shivers through his body. He wasn't a homo; he couldn't be feeling this way. The thought of being gay, of being an outcast, being a freak, it scared Dave more than he thought possible. He didn't want to be on the outside looking in again. He kept seeing Hummel in his mind, walking down the hallways, owning them without care. Dave wasn't that strong, he needed the people he had. His popularity was his life, and without it he'd be no one. He felt a proper and true pang of jealousy for the first time…it must be so easy to not care what anyone thought.

The rest of the year passed, the only other incident being the day the glee club wore those ridiculous Lady Gaga outfits to school. It was the first and only time he actively had attempted to attack Hummel aside from the usual push into the locker. He felt trapped by what was about to happen, but Z was right there and he didn't know what else to do. Thankfully Hudson showed up at that moment, in a red dress, surprisingly. Dave kept the façade up, but the rest of the glee club showed up and Azimio backed down, much to his relief. Dave made some offhanded comment about bringing more friends next time, and the two of them left.

Junior year came quietly and normally. It was a welcome change for Dave, he'd made it onto the football team after two years of trying, so he and Z were hanging out a lot more and playing Xbox at his house quite a bit. He hadn't thought of Hummel all summer, hadn't worried about any of the crap that was going on inside his head, he just was able to be a normal teenager again, well, at least until he sabotaged all that in one fell swoop. With school back in session and the glee club starting to gain notoriety around the school, all the old conventions were swinging wildly out of balance. The football team and the Cheerios were getting worried that they'd start losing their places at the top of the social hierarchy, so the torment of the glee kids started getting worse. Dave's attacks on Hummel were getting more frequent, despite his reluctance, but he was afraid that the football team soon wouldn't be satisfied with just shoving anymore. A dark and terrible storm was bubbling inside the minds of McKinley's upper crust, and Dave was scared of where that'd lead them.

That day, it was normal like any other really. But something had changed in Hummel, and Dave wasn't ready for it. Dave shoved the boy into a locker, but this time Kurt got up and chased after him. The shorter boy burst into the locker room while Dave was trying to get some of his things out.

"HEY! I am talking to you!" Kurt's voice sliced the air.

"The girl's locker room is next door." Dave fired back, not even looking, trying to hold up the persona he'd been working so hard to maintain for two years.

The shorter boy marched over to him.

"What is your problem?" he demanded, glaring directly into Dave's eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"What are you _so scared of_?" Kurt was getting close to his face now, and Dave could smell his…what was that, shampoo? He screwed his face up in a sort of digust.

"Besides you sneakin' in here to peek at my junk?" he responded, trying to throw as much venom at Hummel as he could. He just wanted the boy to go away. This was getting…distracting.

"Oh yeah, every straight guy's _nightmare_," Kurt's voice was filled with sarcasm and bile, "That all us gays are secretly out to molest and convert you. Well guess what hamhock, you're _not_ my type."

Dave reeled slightly, like he'd been punched. His chest started burning, that familiar fire spreading through his veins and filling his face.

"That right?" he replied, trying to keep his cool.

_Just go AWAY Hummel, please for both our sakes, GO AWAY. _Dave was screaming inside his head now.

"Yeah. I don't dig on chubby boys who sweat too much and are going to be bald by the time they're thirty." Kurt spat.

Another punch, more fire in his chest. He raised his fist this time without even thinking about it.

"Do not _push me_ Hummel!" Dave growled, his face bright red now.

"You gonna hit me?" Kurt replied, glancing at Dave's raised fist, "Do it."

Dave slammed his locker in attempt to scare the smaller boy off but nothing seemed to be working. Everything, **everything **he'd worked to keep hidden for the past year was boiling out now, he couldn't stop himself. Hummel just needed to leave, to run away like he always did. But he was just standing there, glaring at Dave with some sort of renewed spirit.

"Don't push me!" Dave repeated.

"Hit me, because it's not going to change who I am." Kurt responded, fear and rage quaking his voice. He stood his ground regardless, "You can't punch the gay out of me anymore than I could punch the ignoramus out of you!"

"**THEN GET OUT OF MY FACE!**" Dave roared, on the verge of tears now. Kurt was inches from his face now, and Dave saw fire in his eyes he'd never witnessed before.

"You are _nothing_ but a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinarily ordinary you are!"

Dave couldn't stop himself; he just shot forward and grabbed Kurt's face, and pulled him in, kissing the boy fiercely on the lips, the fire under his skin bursting outward and filling his body with a violent heat and light he'd never felt before now. Hummel stiffened under his touch, but he didn't notice, all he wanted in that moment was to let all of it go, everything he'd been hiding, the feelings inside him, all of it. He pulled back, a desperate moan of longing escaping his lips.

Hummel was standing there, his face filled with confusion. Dave's right hand was still touching Kurt's neck slightly, but the boy's skin was ice cold now. Dave leaned forward again, hoping, _wishing_ to be able to kiss those lips again. But this time Kurt shoved him back and recoiled in horror.

'_Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK. WHAT DID I JUST DO?'_ Dave's mind reeled. He'd completely fucked up. Kurt was staring at him like he was some sort of monster. He could feel the tears stinging his eyes again, he pounded his hands into the lockers and ran out, casting one final glance back at Kurt, who was still frozen where he stood.

He cried for the second time that night.

He didn't even want to think about the rest of it. That kiss toppled everything. He was so upset, so destroyed over what he'd done. He felt like he'd violated Kurt in some way. Then he made that threat, and just made everything worse. It was like he couldn't do anything right when it came to Kurt; all he did was mess everything up even worse than it was before. He blinked away a couple of tears; looking over at the Prom King crown hanging from his bedpost, glad to be back in the present and away from his memories. He almost wanted to laugh, looking at it. McKinley had given him back his crown, but it was made of fool's gold and the gems were tarnished: A false king, after all. His castle had crumbled around him, and with it, his life. He then looked at his cell phone, sitting on his desk, illuminated by a streetlight outside. He picked up the device and turned the screen on. There, shining back at him in the darkness, was Kurt's message:

[I promised you I'd be waiting. Don't keep me too long, okay? – Kurt]

Dave smiled at the message. Out of all the unlikely people on this planet, in the end, it would be Hummel who'd help him find his way home. He selected Kurt's number, and pressed "Send".

Two rings, and then an answer on the other end.

"Hello?"


	4. Chapter Three: Words

The Edge of Glory

_**A/N: Another heartfelt thanks from me to you all for reading this! Please read and review, as always, it's definitely appreciated. The song for this chapter is "Words" by Darren Hayes (from the album "This Delicate Thing We've Made.")**_

Chapter Three: Words

At approximately 8:30PM, Kurt's phone rang. It was Dave; Kurt picked it up on the second ring.

"K—Kurt?" Dave's voice cracked through the line.

"Is everything okay? You sound like you've been crying." Kurt responded, concern filling his voice.

"…I've just been thinking about a lot of things. It's hard, that's all." Dave responded.

"I understand. Coming to terms with this whole thing is a long process. We just have to work through it slowly, and do it together." Kurt said.

There was a long pause.

"Kurt, how long did it take for you to figure everything out?" Dave's voice sounded raw, as if he was unable to process whatever was going through his head.

Kurt thought for a second, trying to figure out how to talk the boy down from his fear and into trusting him.

"It took a long time, honestly. I pretty much always knew I was gay. I tried to hide it, very unsuccessfully I might add, until sophomore year. I was afraid, just like you are now David." Kurt really wished he were there in person to offer Dave some sort of comfort. This was difficult to do over the phone.

"You had every right to be afraid though, I treated you like absolute crap. I was hateful, jealous, and repressed. I was merciless." Dave's voice was flat.

"You were not merciless, David." Kurt scolded lightly, "You never once actually hit me. You had a surprising amount of restraint. I'm not saying what you did was harmless, but there were a lot worse things you could have done to me."

"I threatened to kill you." Dave's voice trembled, "I—I don't want you to die. Kurt, you're a wonderful person and the things I said and did…"

"They're in the past. We need to move past them and work on the you in the present. You told me you were sorry. I truly believed you then. You know what I think? The David that broke down and tearfully told me how sorry he was, I think he's the real you. I just think that you've forgotten that."

There was a muffled sob on the other side of the line, and Kurt frowned in spite of himself. Despite his history with Dave, he genuinely and truly felt bad for the other young man. There was no way he could truly grasp the extent of what Dave was going through, but he was at least on a similar page.

"It—It just hurts so much, Kurt." Dave's voice cracked again, "All of it hurts. I feel like I'm going to go everywhere all at once. The bullying was the only way I knew how to cope, the only way I could keep myself held back, I'm so afraid that if I start crying, I'll drown myself in tears."

Kurt was already grabbing his keys from the bedside table and heading up the stairs to the front door. There wasn't any way he was going to let Dave go through this alone. They might have had school the next day, but this was more important.

"David. Take a deep breath and try to stay calm, okay? I'm coming over, we need to sit down and have this talk face to face. Phones aren't going to be much help." Kurt said, walking out the front door and getting into his car.

"N—no, Kurt, I don't want you to see me upset like this." Dave was pushing again, trying to keep the young man away. "We're not even really friends."

Kurt suppressed a chuckle, putting the car in gear and pulling out of the driveway.

"You opened up to me at school last Spring, and then we were named Prom King and Queen. I think "friends" is merely a title at this point. We may not have talked much, but I think we have the beginnings of a great friendship. I don't think some large amount of hanging out is needed before we arrive at a word to define how we view one another."

Kurt headed down the street slowly, knowing he didn't actually know where Dave lived. He was just guessing until the other boy actually told him.

"I need to know where you live, Dave. I can't actually come over and talk to you if I drive in circles all night." He said.

"Uh, I live at the end of Augusta Drive, big cul de sac. You can't miss it. You know where that is, right?"

"Yeah, of course I do. It's right by the mall. I'm over in that area a lot. Rachel lives over in that area, I think." Kurt said, turning left when he got to the stop at the end of the street. It wouldn't take that long to get to the mall.

"She does. She came over to my house the day after I apologized to you and told me thank you, then she handed me a copy of the soundtrack to Wicked. She told me that if you and I were going to be friends, I should know it by heart." Dave's voice was slightly calmer, but still unsteady.

Kurt giggled.

"That sounds so much like Rachel." He said, "Have you listened to it yet?"

"Uh, not all of it. She highlighted a track for me and said I should give it a listen. So I started there."

"Probably Defying Gravity. It's the pièce de résistance of that entire album." Kurt said.

"Yeah, I think that was it. It was really good, actually. I never thought I'd care for a musical soundtrack, but there was a lot of power and emotion behind it. Plus, the lyrics really fit with what's going on…you know?"

Kurt had gotten onto the highway at this point, and was headed towards the mall. The highway would drop him off right by Dave's neighborhood, so it wouldn't be that much longer.

"Well, Wicked is the possibly the greatest musical to come to Broadway in a long time, so it's definitely made to convert people who don't like musicals normally." Kurt said, with a laugh, "Oh, I'll be there in like five minutes."

There was rustling on the other end of the line for a couple seconds.

"David? You still there?" Kurt asked, thinking that the phone may have been dropped.

"Yeah, sorry, I was getting up from my computer. Uh, is it alright if I get off here? I need to put on a fresh shirt…I look like a mess." Dave said.

"Of course, by all means. Although you don't have to try to look nice for me…I'm just coming over to talk." Kurt said.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Dave's voice quaked in nervousness, "I just…I just don't think you want to see me sitting around without a shirt."

Kurt felt his face suddenly get hot.

_What in the world…?_ He thought, _Why am I getting embarrassed at that?_

"I was teasing you." Kurt composed himself; "I'll let you go, I'll see you in a few minutes. Goodbye David."

"Bye Kurt."

There was a click on the other end, and Kurt put his phone down in the passenger seat. He turned his Lady Gaga album up loud and sped back up to 70 miles an hour, heading further down the highway. He'd at least succeeded in getting David's mind off being depressed for the time being.

It wasn't much longer when Kurt finally arrived at the Karofsky household. The house was a really cute two-story place, and he saw a light on in the upper corner room. That was probably Dave's bedroom; hopefully he'd been able to find a shirt.

Kurt parked that car and got out, walking up to the front door briskly. He opened the outer glass storm door and rapped sharply on the wood three times.

A larger man with a goatee answered the door. Kurt recognized him has Dave's father, Paul. They'd met twice before in Principal Figgins office.

"Hi," Kurt said brightly, "I'm…Kurt Hummel. We've met before. I was here to see David?"

"It's surprising to see you here Kurt. I'll get David; he missed dinner so he's probably still upstairs in his room. Come in, you can make yourself comfortable." Paul said, moving aside to allow Kurt entry into the Karofsky home, then moving toward the stairwell next to what looked to be the kitchen. It was an extremely strange sensation in Kurt's mind, being at the home of a former bully. He went over and stood by an old overstuffed armchair in the living room. The house was surprisingly classy on the inside. Kurt kind of just assumed that David's parents wouldn't be terribly well, _classy._ He felt bad since it was merely guilt by association.

A middle-aged woman poked her upper body around the corner of the kitchen at that moment, holding a china plate and a dish rag.

"Paul, is someone he—" she began, stopping when she saw Kurt standing in the living room, grinning sheepishly.

"Oh! You must be Kurt!" she said immediately, a big smile crossing her face. She leaned back into the kitchen for a second and came back out, this time without the plate. "I'm Davie's mother, Janice. You can just call me Mrs. Karofsky."

She drew Kurt into a quick hug. She was extremely tall, even taller than Finn and Dave, and on top of that she was extremely beautiful. Not in that current Hollywood star way, more classically no-makeup beautiful. She reminded Kurt a lot of Audrey Hepburn.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Karofsky." He said, hugging her back before she let him go.

"It's wonderful to see that Davie has a new friend. His football buddies weren't the most pleasant people in the world." She said, seemingly frowning a little at the thought of it, "They came over and ate our food and never once really thanked us or anything."

Kurt shook his head. That seemed typical of the football team.

"David and I are working on setting up a chapter of PFLAG at McKinley, he wanted to help do it as an apology for bullying me." Kurt said, almost immediately regretting bringing up the bullying thing.

"I was so angry when I found out that Davie had been harassing you. You seem like a wonderful young man. I'm very glad you two have seemed to overcome your differences though." Janice said.

"We're working on it." Kurt said with a smile.

Suddenly footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, and Dave was standing there on the second step up, looking at both his mother and Kurt in slight embarrassment.

"Oh, Davie! I was just talking to your friend Kurt here. He's a very nice boy." She said.

"Ma, please tell me you didn't embarrass him or anything like that." Dave sounded exasperated.

"Oh no, it was absolutely fine David. You mom's very nice. We had a good little chat while I was waiting." Kurt said.

Dave swallowed visibly.

"Well, do you…want to come up to my room?" Dave said.

Kurt nodded, smiling back at Janice and then following Dave up the stairs.

"You two have a good time!" she called up the stairs after them. Kurt could see Dave's face flush.

"S-sorry about that. Mom's a bit overbearing." Dave repeated his line from earlier at the mall.

"I think she's a lovely lady, actually." Kurt said. "She said she scolded you for bullying me."

"Yeah…she can get kinda scary when she's mad." Dave said.

Dave pushed his bedroom door open, and walked inside. Kurt followed closely behind him and…was that cologne Dave was wearing? Dave shut the door behind the two of them and went to sit down in his computer chair.

"Are you…are you wearing cologne?" Kurt asked, suddenly curious, taking a seat on the edge of Dave's bed.

"Uh…yeah. I was kinda hot and sweaty from earlier, I worked out and went for a run after we got back from the mall. I figured you'd rather smell the cologne than my B.O." Dave said.

"Well, my nostrils thank you." Kurt said. "I have to say I really like it, what is it?"

Dave looked somewhat surprised.

"I thought you were some sort of fashion expert, Kurt."

"I know designers and I know about the people that make the scents, but I can't recall them just from scent. This one smells familiar, but I couldn't tell you exactly what it was for the life of me."

Dave turned around and grabbed the glass bottle of cologne sitting there.

"I got this from Mom for Christmas this last year. I actually kinda like it, but I never wear it to school because the guys would make fun of me." He said, handing the bottle over to Kurt.

"Oh, it's Acqua Di Gio! Georgio Armani!" Kurt exclaimed, "Your mother has extremely good taste! I love Armani, and this is the most popular men's cologne in the U.S. actually."

Dave smiled, looking impressed.

"See, I knew you'd know what it was. I just honestly liked the way it smelled on me, so I kept the bottle and wear it to family events and stuff like that."

Kurt handed the bottle back to Dave, who set it back down on his desk.

"So anyways, why don't we get into why I decided to come over?" Kurt asked, "I'm worried for you David. I really don't want to see you hurt yourself or get hurt. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone until you were ready, and I plan to keep my word. However, I think we need to work on making this whole gay thing more comfortable for you."

Dave started looking at the ceiling, and Kurt knew he was trying to think of what he wanted to say. He waited patiently.

"I just don't know much of what to do Kurt. I'm not strong like you or Blaine, and I don't know where to start or how to be more accepting of myself. I've always had trouble with this; I didn't want to be this way. It always seemed more like a cruel joke than something I could accept and be happy with. I've always just wanted to be normal."

Kurt sighed, scooting over so he could face Dave more easily.

"David – you are normal. You have to understand that. Being gay isn't some sort of curse, although I'm sure you feel like it is because it means you aren't like the majority of most people out there. But you have to look at how accepting people are these days, sure there's still bullying and there's still horrible, hateful things that happen out of ignorance or stupidity, but you can't say that the world hasn't gotten better in dealing with it." Kurt said, carefully placing his hand on Dave's knee, looking over at him.

Dave jerked slightly to the touch, probably out of instinct, but he made no other movements and allowed Kurt's hand to remain there.

"And I think if we're going to start anywhere, the first place is yourself. You have to accept yourself before we can make any progress beyond that. You're struggling, and I know that you're unsure of where to do, but we have to make you love yourself again. That's going to be the only thing that will help you move into a coming out process. You should also probably tell your parents at some point."

Dave looked as though he was going to protest this last piece of information, but Kurt raised his hand to keep him quiet.

"I'm not saying you need to come out to them today or even tomorrow, and I know that you're worried that by telling them, they'll ostracize you. You'd be surprised though, I have a feeling that your parents won't mind it as much as you seem to think they would. Sure, some gay teenagers have parents that don't accept them, but more often than not they're accepting of their children. My father is about as masculine and he seemed to be someone who wouldn't like having a gay son, but he accepted me and loves me just as much today."

Dave nodded.

"I've seen how he defends you firsthand." He said, absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder. Kurt realized that was probably the place where his father had pushed Dave into the lockers.

"Yeah, sorry about that. He's a little overprotective of me anymore." Kurt said, looking slightly embarrassed albeit proud.

Dave shifted in his seat a little, turning the computer chair towards Kurt completely. He was playing with his fingernails absentmindedly, looking awkward.

"How did you do it?" Dave asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "How were you able to…come out to your dad and friends? I mean, was it hard or anything?"

Kurt nodded at Dave.

"It was difficult. I tried to hide by being someone I wasn't. I even pretended I was dating Brittany in order to keep it from my father. I thought he wanted me to be that stereotypical son figure, the one who loved sports, who wanted to go fishing and work on cars. That kind of thing, you know? It took me a long time, but I finally got the courage up to tell him during sophomore year, and he told me that while he didn't understand it, I was still his son and that he loved me more than anything else in this world and that nothing I was could change how he felt for me. It was a huge relief, and I can tell you with confidence that it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of me once I did tell him."

Dave nodded while listening to Kurt's story, his eyes smiling in spite of him.

"Coming out to my friends wasn't terribly hard, as they all seemed to know, but I still pretended, but they told me that whoever I was, they loved me for it." Kurt finished, looking hopefully at Dave.

Dave broke into a small grin.

"That's amazing Kurt. I'm really happy for you. I'm really glad that you have so many people who care about you that well. I'm afraid my friends won't be so understanding…even if my parents happen to be." He said, looking into the distance.

"I'm your friend." Kurt said, "I more than understand. And you have the rest of the Glee Club. They'd be your friends if you were honest and true with them. The people that you're worried about, Azimio Adams and that group? If they can't accept you for who you truly are, perhaps they weren't the friends you thought they were."

Kurt could feel that the other boy was shivering, so he moved his hand from Dave's leg to his arm, looking into his eyes.

"I know that you don't want to lose anyone in this process, but you have to come to the understanding that it might happen." Kurt said.

"I just don't know if I'm ready to deal with being hated by people that I once called my friends. I feel like I'm some sort of two faced monster by suddenly coming around and saying "Hey, I'm not who you thought I was." I feel like they'll hate me more for that than for being…you know." Dave stopped himself, it was like a curse word to him, Kurt could tell. He didn't want to admit it to himself.

"Say it." Kurt said.

"What?" Dave looked at him.

"Say it. Say it out loud. Say that you're gay. You've not said it once, but it's who you are. You have to accept it before this pain will start to heal."

Dave's face turned red. Kurt saw the struggle to get it out. Yet again, he moved his hand, but this time he placed his on top of Dave's.

"Nothing bad is going to happen if you say it out loud. I promise. There's not going to be some huge pride parade that suddenly explodes out of your closet and starts sprinkling glitter around and turning all your posters into ones of Taylor Lautner or something like that." He said.

Dave stifled a laugh, and now he was looking at Kurt's hand on top of his. Kurt wondered what he was thinking about, but then Dave took a deep breath and looked back at Kurt, his eyes filled with a deep sort of longing, and Kurt knew he was longing to be accepted.

"Okay. Okay. I'll say it." Dave said, his hand shaking now, as if this were the hardest thing in the world, and Kurt knew that for Dave it was.

"I, Dave Karofsky, am…" he paused for a second and looked right at Kurt again, this time in his eyes, "I'm gay."

Kurt smiled. Dave had gotten through the first step, the hardest part. Accepting himself. He had to say it out loud, and mean it. It seemed like such a trivial thing, but it made all the difference in the world. Dave's eyes softened and with a huge shudder, he started to cry.

"David?" Kurt asked, moving from the bed and crouching on the floor in front of Dave's computer chair, trying to look up at the boy's face, which was now turned down to look at his own lap. Teardrops were falling from his eyes, staining his face and his shirt.

"It's just…it's the first time I've ever been able to say it out loud to anyone. I'm just…relieved. I feel better. I feel so much better, and I just had to let all this pain out." Dave said, in between small sobs.

"It's okay. Cry all you need. I'm here." Kurt said, "I'll always be here. I told you that I'd wait for you last year. I'll wait for as long as you need. You're a great person David, never forget that."

Then, without warning, Kurt suddenly felt two big muscular arms wrap around his neck and drape over his back. David Karofsky was hugging him, Kurt Hummel, the boy he once teased and bullied for two years. And in that moment, as Dave buried his face into the nape of Kurt's neck and continued to cry, Kurt still crouched on the floor of his bedroom, Kurt felt something for Dave he'd never thought possible: he felt hope.


	5. Chapter Four: Hallelujah

The Edge of Glory

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay all, I was extremely busy the last couple weeks, but I promise this update is worth it. I spent the last week in Mexico, so I've had a LOT of time to sit and write. This chapter is based on the song "Hallelujah," originally sung by Leonard Cohen. **_

_**A/N 2: The version of "Hallelujah" that Dave sings during his audition for Glee Club is the one covered by Justin Robinett and Michael Henry. I suggest listening to it and pretending that its Dave's voice you're hearing. **_

Chapter Four: Hallelujah

Two months had passed since Kurt had visited Dave at his home. The two of them had worked diligently on getting their PFLAG chapter attention and notoriety throughout the town of Lima. There was initial resistance by the School Board and the PTA to allow such a club to form at McKinley, but after Kurt gave an incredibly passionate speech before the collective of all the members, they backed down. The Bullywhips were officially disbanded shortly following the formation of PFLAG, although Dave still wore his jacket and beret to school, as a somber reminder to the other students of what some of the members of the school had gone through. Aside from that nothing was particular spectacular about the school year.

It was on one of these particular boring and normal days that Kurt approached Dave at his locker, something he hadn't really done before.

"Hey David," he said brightly. Dave noticed he was smiling with his eyes, something Kurt did a lot. "I have a proposition for you."

Dave raised an eyebrow.

"Look Kurt, I really don't feel comfortable going to a gay bar or anything."

Kurt laughed.

"Not that kind of proposition. I was wanting to know if you'd audition for Glee Club this week." Kurt said.

The words "Glee Club" seemed to crash into Dave with the force of a speeding truck. Honestly, this was the one conversation he'd been somewhat hoping to avoid. There was nothing wrong with Glee Club, after all, Dave was just worried that he wouldn't be any good; especially considering the talent they had on stage already.

"I don't really know Kurt…" Dave said, fingering the spine of his Calculus II book, "I honestly don't know if I could even compete with any of you. You're all extremely talented."

"Don't be modest, David." Kurt said, who was now looking at Dave with amusement, "You're extremely talented. I watched you dance with the club during the football game last year. You were really good."

Dave blinked twice.

"You…you saw me?" he said.

"Yes, as embarrassing as this is to admit, and as afraid and angry I was with you, I couldn't really take my eyes off you. I'd never seen you so…_happy._"

A smile crept across Dave's face, remembering back to the football players' performance with the Glee Club.

"It was a lot of fun. I had such a good time, I really did." Dave admitted.

"Then audition! You have natural talent, I think you'd be wonderful."

"…Don't you think that the rest of the club would be unhappy with me being there?" Dave started picking at the corner of his Calc II book again, looking at it every couple of seconds in order to not look at Kurt's face.

"I've already talked to them. Considering your change of heart over the last few months, they said that they'd be more than willing to allow you in on a trial basis. A couple of the members were hesitant, but when I said it meant a lot to me, they said it was okay." Kurt said, crossing his arms over his chest and trying his best to look huffy.

"Okay Kurt, you've convinced me. I'm afraid you'll try to break me if I say no." Dave teased.

"Damn right." Kurt nodded fiercely. Dave laughed.

"I just don't know what I'm going to sing."

"Pick something that you identify with, honestly." Kurt said, "Something that really speaks to your heart."

"Okay…I'll think about it when I go home tonight. Anyways, I need to get to class, or I'll be in trouble." Dave said, closing his locker and shuffling his books in his arms awkwardly.

"Alright, you'll do amazing, David. I have faith in you." Kurt smiled, and then waved, "Have a good day. Good luck."

Dave smiled back and turned to walk to his class, grinning the whole way, suddenly knowing exactly what song he was going to sing.

Over the next few days, Dave rehearsed the song he'd chosen in his bedroom while his parents weren't home. He was still afraid of what they might think if they found out that he was joining the Glee Club, despite the fact that he knew deep down that they probably wouldn't care. Over and over again, late into the afternoon, as the sun burned a path across his carpet and onto his wall, the words rang clear and pure to him, and soaked themselves into every inch of his room.

He'd loved this song ever since he'd first heard it years ago, only now it struck a chord of identity to him, and he finally understood the meaning behind the words he'd once memorized. He had decided to put his own spin on it, slightly, deciding that it might help his chances of making into the Glee Club. He tried to push back any nervous habits he noticed he had when he sang, such as fiddling with the hemline of his shirt, or staring at the ceiling instead of at his supposed "audience" (which was really just a mirror hanging above his dresser.)

_I'm never going to be able to do this correctly. _He thought to himself, turning the music off finally. The front door opened at that moment, and his mom's voice carried up the stairs to him.

"Davie, your father and I brought dinner home for you!" she called.

"Be right down, Mom." He said back, not sure if she heard him. He glanced at himself in the mirror, his eyes looked tired and his face was red from belting out the notes he'd been trying to hit. "I look like shit though."

He touched his hands to his cheeks, continuing to examine himself. He really didn't look anything like any of the gay guys he'd ever seen; he was…big and awkward, not at all lithe and small framed like Kurt was. How would he ever be accepted looking like this? It was true that all Dave knew of the gay community was what he'd seen on TV shows and looked up briefly on the Internet, but he'd never really seen anything about bigger guys involved in the Pride parades or anything like that. Sure, coming out was still top priority on his list; Dave just didn't know how he'd fit in with the gay community once he finally did accept himself enough to let people know. Maybe he'd talk to Kurt about it sometime, after the audition. He still had a lot of questions about everything, and while checking online helped, it really mostly just turned up porn (not that he really minded that either.)

"David, you dinner is getting cold! Come downstairs!" his father's voice this time.

Dave sighed and pulled himself away from the mirror. He'd better go downstairs and not miss dinner again…his parents were starting to worry and he knew how they could get. At the bottom of the stairs, he poked his head around the corner; both his parents were seated at the yellow kitchen table, an array of KFC spread out in front of them.

"Nice of you to join us, finally." His father said, taking a bite of chicken. "This was going to be the third time this week you missed dinner with the family. Are you feeling okay?"

Dave nodded and pulled out a chair, sitting down quickly and looking around at the food on the table. He put some potatoes and gravy on his plate and grabbed a chicken breast and a drumstick.

"Sorry, I've just been thinking about stuff with school. Have a lot on my mind, that's all." He said, lamely.

"Hopefully you've been studying more."

"Paul, I'm sure Davie's been doing his homework again. His friend Kurt's been over here for some study sessions in the last month." His mom said.

"Actually, I'm helping tutor Kurt in math. He says its not his strongest subject…and yes, I have been doing my homework. I got an A on my last Calc 2 test, and Kurt's been helping me with my Spanish work in return." Dave replied, take a bite of his potatoes.

"That Kurt is a very nice boy, you know." His mom said, smiling.

"I'm glad the two of you are getting along now, David. No more bullying, I hope." Paul said, raising an eyebrow at his son.

"No Dad, no more bullying…I've put that all behind me. It doesn't help anyone. Plus, Kurt's really helped me out with feeling better about who I am." Dave said, but suddenly realized he'd said too much.

Both his parents looked at him now. Dave's felt his face turning redder than it already was.

_Shit. What do I do?_ Dave's mind raced to find an answer. Kurt's voice came into his head.

"_I have a feeling that your parents won't mind it as much as you seem to think they would."_

"Davie?" his mother's voice pulled him out of his own head, she looked at him expectantly. "What do you mean when you say that? You know that you can tell your father and I anything."

"Well…" Dave swallowed hard; his heart was pounding faster in his chest than he ever thought possible, as if it were trying to escape. He could feel a bead of sweat forming on his brow. This shouldn't be as hard as it was, but Dave just felt all the nerves in his body were on fire all at once. "You know that I'd been harassing Kurt for the last year and everything right? And my grades had been slipping?"

His parents nodded, and his Dad's face was stern, as if remembering the multiple conferences they'd had with Principal Figgins.

"There was a reason behind why all that was happening, actually." Dave's voice was shaking. "I was ashamed of myself…I've been hiding a secret from…well everyone."

"David, you don't need to keep secrets from your mother or I. We're here for you whatever. I mean, you didn't kill anyone, I hope." His father's voice was surprisingly gentle, yet firm. He looked at his wife, and she nodded.

"No Dad, it's nothing like that."

It was now or never, honestly. He needed to tell them. There was no backing up from this point. He had to be truthful with his family, as they deserved that much.

"I'm…" he started, his mouth dry. He swallowed. "I'm gay, Mom and Dad. I'm gay, and Kurt's been helping me accept myself and come out."

The words just escaped his mouth; he didn't even have to force them. It was as if the secret he'd been keeping inside had been begging to be let go for so long it decided it was time. And very suddenly, Dave literally did feel as though a big weight had lifted off his chest, and he could breathe again.

His parents were silent for a second. They exchanged glances. Dave's heart sank…Kurt was wrong. His parents weren't going to be happy; they were going to be angry.

But instead, his Mom laughed into her napkin, his Dad smiled and shook his head.

"Oh Davie, that's your secret?" she said, almost amused. "Please honey, your father and I have known for the last six months."

"You…I…wait what?" Dave's face flooded with confusion.

"I went to clean your room up back in April and I found some magazines hidden under your bed. I didn't say anything then because I wanted you to come to us on your own, when you were ready. Nothing would come of forcing you out when you weren't ready to accept yourself."

Dave felt himself burning up inside again. Those magazines…the ones he'd totally stolen (not his best moment) from the periodicals rack at Borders: A copy of Out Magazine and two gay porn mags from the 18+ sections. That was a super embarrassing way for your parents to find out. Wonderful.

"So…you guys don't care?" Dave said.

"Care?" his father said, "One of my best friends from work is gay, he's a really cool guy. Goes golfing with us every other week. We're just disappointed that you decided to bully another gay kid because you didn't know what to do."

"We understand what motivated your actions Davie, but that doesn't make it okay. And we're partially at fault because we didn't seem to affirm to you that being gay wasn't a bad thing. We should have been more active in helping you, especially after we learned, but we felt like you needed to come to us on your own."

"We're just glad that you've found a good friend to help you out. And you know that your mother and I will always be here for you." Paul said, patting his son on the back, "We love you regardless. Now, finish your dinner."

Dave smiled at his parents, and took another bite of his chicken. Just like that, it was over. He was totally going to nail that audition now.

The auditorium was cold, that was the first thing that Dave noticed the afternoon of his audition. He was getting nervous, and pacing back and forth on the side of the stage. He could see the whole Glee Club sitting out in the first few rows, minus Kurt, who was up on stage. Mr. Schuester was sitting at a table about halfway back, a few rows behind the rest of the Glee Club, waiting.

"Fellow Glee Club members," Kurt said, "As I've already discussed with you all, we have another student who wants to join us this year. He's prepared something that he wants to share with us, and I'd appreciate it if you'd all give him your consideration. David, if you're ready."

Dave was starting to sweat, looking nervously at Kurt, who was motioning him from the side of the stage. He pulled himself away from the curtains and made his way out onto center stage. He could feel the entire club staring at him as he made his way over to the pianist and handed him the sheet music he'd printed off online for his song. He could hear Finn whispering to Rachel, but couldn't make out any words. He made it to the center of the stage and stood facing the front, despite the fact that the lights were totally blinding him.

"Uh…hi. I'm Dave Karofsky, as you guys already know...and um, I wanted to audition to be in the Glee Club. I'll be singing 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen." He was legitimately freaking out, but trying to keep himself under control. He heard Rachel scoff loudly.

"We'd love to hear it, David." Mr. Schuester cut across the sound sharply, "Please, whenever you're ready."

Dave nodded and then turned to the pianist (he couldn't remember the guy's name, despite the fact that he was always just conveniently…there) and nodded a second time. The piano started immediately, a crescendo of sound from nothing. Dave immediately began count off in his head for his first line. Before he knew it, the moment was upon him. He started singing, letting the moment melt away, leaving just him and the music:

"_Your faith was strong but you needed proof,_

_You saw him bathing on the roof_

_His beauty in the moonlight overthrew you,_

_He tied you to the kitchen chair, he broke your throne and he cut your hair,_

_And from your lips he drew the "Hallelujah"_

_Hallelujah_

_Hallelujah_

_Hallelujah_

_Hallelu~jah._

_I heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord,_

_But you don't really care for music, do you?_

_Well it goes like this:_

_The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift_

_The baffled King composing Hallelujah!_

_Hallelujah,_

_Hallelujah,_

_Hallelujah,_

_Hallelu~_

_Hallelujah_

_Hallelujah_

_Hallelujah_

_Hallelu~_

_Hallelujah_

_Hallelujah_

_Hallelu~jah!"_

As Dave's voice fell into an echo, and the piano's final note faded, there was absolute silence in the auditorium. It was the silence that pulled Dave back into the present. The lights still burned brightly, and he was unable to see the reactions of anyone sitting. Dave knew he'd nailed it, regardless of what they thought. He'd done perfectly.

"Thanks for your time." Dave said, turning to leave.

Then, applause and cheers. Dave stopped and looked back into the small audience, finally able to see now that he wasn't standing dead center on stage. The entire Glee Club was giving him a standing ovation, and Kurt was cheering the loudest. Dave's face warmed.

"Dave, that was absolutely amazing!" Mr. Schuester said. Dave saw the others nod enthusiastically in agreement. "Really, you have a wonderful voice."

The teacher looked at the rest of the club below.

"Well, what do you all say? Is Dave in Glee Club?" he asked.

Everyone said yes.

_**A/N 3: Dave's coming out in this chapter is based on my own coming out to my parents. The things said obviously aren't verbatim from my personal experience (it's been almost ten years since I came out,) but the overall feeling is still very much the same. I wanted to include this note so as to avoid any cries of his parents' reactions being "unrealistic." **_


End file.
